It was so incredibly beautiful a couple of Saturdays ago that I decided to take my bike out for a spin. By bike, I mean my bicycle. OK, it’s a Schwinn, not a Harley, but I don’t really care about impressing anybody. Go ahead and ding me for he-man points.
Anyway, with the price of gas steadily increasing, I was curious as to how long it would take me to ride the 18 miles from my home to my office. I wanted to see if commuting even one day a week was a realistic option. I found out that it would take me a little under an hour and half, in my current physical condition, to make the trip one way.
I was surprised that Route 302 was pretty much bike friendly right up until the stretch between Highland Variety and Prides Corner. People seemed to be giving me plenty of leeway except for one idiot in a big, black GMC that wanted to show his female companion that he does indeed own the road. I did take some side roads to stay out of traffic, which added to the trip time.
I found out that the trip was not as grueling as I thought it might be. My leg muscles weren’t burning the next day, but the spots I hadn’t slathered the sunscreen on did. Unfortunately, between weather and the meetings I have to attend, I don’t think I will be riding my bike to work on a regular basis.
The ride did give me plenty of time to think when I wasn’t focusing on the next potential road hazard. The thought that kept coming back to my mind, actually, was “We are so screwed…”
The papers and news keep talking about our oil situation like it is a temporary inconvenience, something that will be over in a year or two, like the gas shortages of the 1970s and ’80s. Anyone who does a little more reading for extra credit, however, will realize that we are beginning to experience a long-term crisis, the end of oil.
The supply of oil has peaked or is declining and the demand has gone up, especially in China, a country whose people are desperate to live the American lifestyle. China has over four times as many people as the U.S. in what looks to be the same size area. America is not the only player in town when it comes to buying oil now, and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries knows it
Once you wrap your head around the fact that this is not just a phase we are going through, you have to wonder what we should be doing to prepare for the day when the gas price signs go from “Regular $4.39 9/10 per gallon” to “Sorry No Gas” to having nothing posted at all.
Yeah, that is a scary thought, but it could happen in five years or five months and we have a choice to make. We can pull our blankets back over our heads and wish the whole problem would go away, or we can do something now while we still have the resources. That something should be laying out money for some public transportation.
Of course, public transport has so many inconveniences, especially for us suburb dwellers used to going where we want, when we want to. We have to wait for a bus or train and we don’t like waiting. We have to ride with people that we don’t know. We have to make other stops so a 30-minute trip by car takes an hour by bus. Guys who drive big, black GMCs can’t lay rubber when they pass cyclists to compensate for their shortcomings.
But guess what – it beats walking. And who knows, what at first seems inconvenient soon gets accustomed to, maybe even appreciated.
You start to talk to the people you ride to work with every day. You begin to appreciate the extra time to prepare for work or read the paper. After all, you aren’t the one driving. City dwellers seem to be able to deal with strap hanging.
So we have a choice to make, people. We can start talking about this stuff or put our jammies on and go back to dreaming that never ending American Dream of cheap oil, or we can face the hard facts now before they hit us upside our collective head.
One thing is sure. I we do not start preparing now for the day when you can’t find a gallon of gas to save your life, then we will really be missing the bus.
Mike Mack is a Windham resident who can be reached at electmikemack@yahoo.com.
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